The Bearded Trio

ATOMIC BLONDE Starring Charlize Theron, James MacAvoy, John Goodman,  Sofia Boutella, Eddie Marsan,  Bill Skarsgård ,   Toby Jones, James Faulkner Screenplay by Kurt Johnstad Directed by David Leitch Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs  Out Of Four T he emphasis on "strong female characters" on film far too often simply means "hot girls who can kick ass." Charlize Theron has had a mixed track record with this: her turn as Imperetor Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road transcended the formula to become a true feminist heroine and a performance that deserved an Oscar nomination.  On the other hand, Aeon Flux was the worst kind of "gunderwear" trash, making Tomb Raider look like a masterpiece in comparison, and frankly, Theron was terrible in it. Atomic Blonde is no Fury Road , and it's not a feminist flick.  It's a rough and tough action thriller that isn't afraid to show it's heroine with her face bruised and bloodied, but at...

THE MUMMY Starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella,  Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson and Russell Crowe Screenplay by David Koepp and Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman Directed by Alex Kurtzman Reviewed by Patrick and Paul Gibbs Out of Four There was a crowd that felt quite let down by Stephen Sommers remake of  The Mummy because they got a campy Indiana Jones  knockoff. But there was an even bigger crowd (of which we were part) that didn't even have the movie on their radar but ended up finding it to be a joyously fun popcorn  flick, and it has a place in movie history if for no other reason than the fact that the phrase "I actually liked  The Mummy  better than the new  Star Wars " was spoken so many times. Either way, there is no denying that the franchise fizzled out, and not long after the National Astronomical Society declared that Pluto was no longer a planet, they added that Brendan Fraser is no longer a ...